Christmas Art!

So even though we are a whole week into January, I guess I won't really feel like it's the new year until this coming Monday because our holidays were so extended this year.

My eldest daughter and son live in Ottawa, ON, and I just get to see them a couple of times a year. They both currently work in retail and weren't able to come here right on Christmas. They arrived on January 2nd and left yesterday. It was a whirlwind of activity while they were here, as always, but a lot of fun and way too short.

I had asked my kids to make me something for Christmas and the older ones did. They are both self-taught in all of their artistic endeavours, which I find pretty impressive. I would never have had the confidence to even try things without instruction.

Holly likes to draw and paint and made me this to hang in my studio:

I am not even sure what mediums she incorporated, I must remember to ask her next time we chat on the phone. If you click on any of the images, you can see them larger. 

The warrior woman with the antler helmet has a lot going on in it, I love it. The bottom part is a sketch of Holly's hands and a quote from a favourite song of hers. It's a beautiful piece of work! Now to find the perfect place for it in my studio.

My son likes to draw too, but he prefers to write. He writes stories, short novels, he journals, and he writes music (both lyrics and the actual music to be played). His gift to me was a book with the lyrics from a CD he is writing. It isn't finished, it is still a work in progress. It is fun for him and therapeutic too, I bet. Here is a photo of the outside of the book:

And the art he drew on the inside of the cover:

I love that Ben has set himself a goal of this sort and love that he wants to share it with me.

Holly asked for a set of sketching pencils in her stocking, and we got Ben back on the road to creating music.

Chloe received a set of knitting looms and also an origami book/paper so she kept her hands busy all through the vacation. She also made all of her siblings tiny scrapbooks for Christmas.

Heidi least likes to work with her hands- but I think it is a time thing for her, because she certainly seems to enjoy making things once she gets going. She decorated a cigar box for Holly as a Christmas gift and did a really great job, Holly loved it!

I don't know if the girls took photos of their projects before giving them away, but if not, I will ask their siblings to take photos for me.

Today is a quiet, creative day- Holly and Ben are safely back home in Canada, Heidi and Chloe are at school, and I am surrounded by my sketching supplies and am going to spend the afternoon having fun!

More fun coming right up!

Happy New Year to all of my friends out there in Blogland! I hope you all know how much you all mean to me- how much I look forward to "talking" to you, to being inspired by your work, to having little glimpses into your creative process. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

My friend Diane, over at My Art Journal, http://dianesalter.blogspot.com/ did a post about her blog book- what a wonderful gift from her children! Thank you for sharing that, Diane- I am looking to tie up loose ends and print my various blogs too- though they will all have to end at the beginning of January since we are not done celebrating yet! Here's the web site: http://blog2print.sharedbook.com/blogworld/printmyblog/index.html

We had our first Christmas on Christmas Day- me, my hubby, my two daughters who live with us, and my two stepsons who live on their own. We had a lovely, albeit very quiet few days.

New Year's Eve was even quieter, with the older of my daughters (living at home) out at a friend's for a good portion of the evening. None of the kids really get too excited about the holidays or anything else here at home anymore. Sigh.

Today, New Year's Day, we joined the neighbors for a little afternoon tea and it was great. Being relatively new here in the neighborhood, I really enjoy getting to know the people who live around us a little better.

Today I re-met a retired high school English teacher who has offered to take on my girls and their various essays/college applications/writing assignments (She needs to keep in practice YAY!), and her daughter, who is a professional photographer who teaches photography and even has some of her work in the Smithsonian!

I have been cooking most of yesterday and today in preparation for our next round of Christmas! My eldest daughter (21), and my son (20) arrive tomorrow and will stay till Thursday morning. Short, but I intend to make it as sweet as possible! I like to have tasty meals cooked ahead of time so that we can eat well without my being chained to the stove while we have company. Mission accomplished- bring it on!

I for one, plan on making this my best year yet, and my plate is already filled with wonderful things: The Sketchbook Challenge which began today and runs all year (click on the box top right); Brave Girls Soul Restoration which begins January 11th (also click on the box top right), the Yoga Journal 21 Day Challenge (http://www.yogajournal.com/), and a number of things on the back burner that will not stay there for another year because of my fear...

Hope you all enjoy the rest of whatever holidays you have with your loved ones, and are gearing up for a fantastic year!

Wanna see?

My friend Brenda received her anniversary quilt in December (in only a WEEK!!!) and saved it to open on Christmas Day. She was really pleased with it- and now I am at liberty to share it and it's story with you.

Here is a photo of the completed quilt on my bed:

I chose each block specifically for the story and there are 14 of them because they were married on the 14th of September.

Starting from top left and going across, row by row (like reading), I will tell the story with the block names in capital letters- sometimes they are in the main part of the story, sometimes they will be in brackets. I will write the story in paragraphs to indicate a new row.

Once upon a time, HANDY ANDY (Brenda's husband's name is Andy and he is a contractor), and LADY OF THE LAKE (Brenda grew up in a farmhouse on a small lake and had a lot of parties) fell in love and decided to get married (BRIDAL PATH). 

Though they could be as different as NIGHT & DAY, they promised to love each other through SUNLIGHT & SHADOWS. So Brenda and Andy got married on September 14th, 1985 (a HEART block with wedding date in free-motion quilting) and made a home together (LOG CABIN). 

Brenda was sometimes a CONTRARY WIFE, but a loving one always. They had three lovely children, Matthew, Jessica, and Adam (a BUTTERFLY block with kids' names), and Brenda was living a MOTHER'S DREAM. The family was able to enjoy many hours together at their favorite summer getaway (CROSSED CANOES).

No matter how busy Brenda got, she always had time to go out for dessert and Diet Coke with a friend (CAKE STAND, FRIENDSHIP).

The Maple Leaf block is because they are Canadian. This story is paraphrased because even though I took a photocopy of the label (which is this whole story plus other details), I can't find that paper right now and I DIDN'T remember to take a photograph of it. Good grief.

On the right side (as you are looking), is an applique vine and flowers- 14 flowers for the 14th again, and 25 leaves for the twenty-five years they have been married.

As any of my blog followers know, I am terrible at following patterns- I always think that I don't need to, or that I can do better, or worse, that I actually know what I am doing without it... lol But it does come back to bite me often- you'd think I would learn! lol This quilt is obviously my own design and it really didn't come out exactly the size I had hoped, but overall, I am pleased with it. And more importantly, Brenda is!

Here are some closer shots of some of the free motion I did in the sashing and on the floral side:

Here is the quilt on my lap while sewing on the binding.

I love making quilts, though I haven't made enough of them for it to feel like an easily-flowing task yet. I still find it overwhelming, but oh so satisfying at the end!

I will be back, I have been doing LOTS of things in the past month, just haven't made time to post!